Spotlight Festival 2026
Cultuurnacht - Sat 5 Sep / 7pm - 11pm
Spotlight Festival brings The Hague to life with a weekend full of performing arts by professionals, amateurs, and local residents. Discover surprising performances in the neighborhoods and the city center, get inspired, and join in! For everyone who wants to experience culture or take part in music, theatre, dance, comedy, film, or festivals.
Amare is also kicking off the new cultural season during the festival. During the cultuurnacht on Saturday 5 September, we are opening our doors, together with Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Residentie Orkest (RO), and the Royal Conservatoire for performances, workshops, and more. Check out the full programme at Amare below!
More information about the festival can be found on the Spotlight Festival website.
Programme
At the Danstheater, Amare will offer a sneak peek of the new ‘26/’27 season. It will be a captivating show hosted by Paula Udondek, in which Amare’s programmers will take you through their highlights. Featuring live music and dance by, among others, our artist-in-residence Elisabeth Hetherington, students from the Royal Conservatory, Dutch Don’t Dance Division, and more!
Meet the Residentie Orkest! During “Cultuurnacht”, we will play some of the most beautiful and well-known melodies from Georges Bizet's Carmen. With his opera about Carmen, the fiery Spanish temptress, Bizet strung together one passionate scene after another. Carmen wants to make her own choices in life and love comes at a high price, as the dutiful army man Don José and the proud Toreador battle for her love. Come to the Amare Concert Hall for half an hour of passionate music in a warm, Southern European atmosphere, performed by the Residentie Orkest with conductor Andrew Grams.
During this edition of Spotlight, Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) will screen a filmed performance of a work that will be performed live later this season at Amare: Ties Unseen by choreographer Christos Papadopoulos, performed by NDT 1. The Greek-born choreographer Christos Papadopoulos favours a minimalist and precise language of movement. Through small but intense physical gestures, Papadopoulos pays tribute to the power of the invisible, transporting the audience into a mysterious environment without a beginning or end.
Join Meet4Music at Spotlight Festival, a free workshop where you’ll make music together with students and tutors from the Royal Conservatoire. Everyone is welcome – young or old, with or without musical experience or your own instrument. Guided by students and tutors from the Royal Conservatoire, you’ll discover the joy of making music together. The workshops take place in Amare’s public spaces and form part of the festival programme.
The Batuque Capoeira Holland family invites you to join us in celebrating three decades of Brazilian culture, sports, music, social integration, parties, and life. International guest masters from Europe and Brazil will lead workshops in capoeira, music, samba, maculele, Afro dance, and maracatú. Expect a wonderfully diverse evening with live music at our party in Amare.
Discover the hustle and bustle of our loading dock area, the quiet behind the scenes, or the magical interplay of the pulleys in the stage tower. Or marvel at the building’s architectural masterpieces. You’ll be guided on an interactive tour by people who are closely connected to Amare and know every nook and cranny.
Food & Drinks
For a bite and a drink you are welcome at Brasserie Amare (ground floor) and the Stadskantine (third floor).